“Hyon was a member of Bochonbo Electronic Music Band.... The Korea Joongang Daily reported that the pair were romantically attached previously, but Kim’s father disapproved and made them break it off sometime in 2006,” the Canadian newspaper reported.

(Here’s the aforementioned video):

News of the marriage within the isolated, totalitarian regime soon brought out the Twitter cynics:

However, The Washington Post’s Chico Harlan reports that Ri’s turn in the spotlight could be a sign of change in the reclusive nation:

“The first lady’s emergence ends a four-decade period where significant others of the ruling Kim family were kept almost entirely behind the scenes. The North’s willingness to give Ri a high profile adds to mounting evidence that Kim, appointed just seven months ago as North Korea’s leader, is trying to create a more personable image than that of his dour, reclusive father,” Harlan writes.

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